Monitoring 11,800 Watershed Dams Using the Web-Based DamWatch System

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has partnered with USEngineering Solutions Corporation (USES). to implement their web-based application DamWatch® to monitor and store data for 11,800 dams built with USDA assistance in 47 states. This paper highlights the efforts to gather and upload thousands of files of electronically scanned documents, develop shape files for the dam drainage areas and 1,300 project boundaries, compute the rainfall alert thresholds for each of the dams, enroll initial users, provide training, and deploy the system. The system should be fully implemented for about 3,000 users in 47 states and one territory by fall 2013.
DamWatch® is a patented web-based system that allows dam operators, NRCS staff, emergency managers, and state dam safety personnel to store and retrieve data, monitor storm events, and quickly respond to potentially destructive flood events. The system can be accessed in the office or through any mobile device. Only preapproved users with a password can access the system.
The system gathers real-time meteorological and hydrological data from sources such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS), United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the NRCS Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) system. DamWatch® then compares meteorological data against established site-specific thresholds and alerts predetermined staff of anticipated spillway flows. Users are automatically alerted by cell phone texts and emails. Upon notification, staffs are dispatched as needed during or after a flood event to specific structures for which alerts were issued. The system also provides navigation aids to direct the user to the dams.
The DamWatch® system stores thousands of files of site-specific data such as as-built drawings, design data, operation and maintenance (O&M) inspection reports, emergency action plans, breach inundation maps, photos, videos, and watershed-benefit data. Remote access to this data enables users to interact with on-site personnel and specialists in various offices. The system also features simulated alert notifications that can be used to perform realistic tabletop exercises with dam owners, first responders, and other users.